Bodies

[fiveworlds]

Why is a dead body so much heavier than a live one?

[iNow]

Put it on scale. The mass is the same (give or take a few pounds). Dead bodies are not, in fact, heavier.

 

More than anything, we just perceive them to be heavier because they're more rigid than live bodies. We don't benefit from the active muscle movements that help us displace the weight of a live person so it's like the difference between carrying a 200-pound steel bar versus a 200-pound sack of rice. The rice curves around us like a snake so seems lighter, even though placing both on a scale would demonstrate their equivalence.

[CharonY]

I am not so sure about the rigid part. It depends on how you are able to carry them and how strong you are. But assuming you try to move a body of roughly your own size and are not terribly strong it is easier to have some muscle tone to assist. Unconscious people for example are very floppy and it is hard to get a good grip on them.

[iNow]

Nice point. I was certainly thinking of a conscious individual helping flex and relax muscles to aid you as you lift and walk.

[Prometheus]

Live people also tend to help, no matter how feeble, you can notice the difference. I've not noticed any qualitative difference between deceased and unconscious people myself.

[John Cuthber]

Why is a dead body so much heavier than a live one?

Wrong question.

Before you ask "Why is a dead body so much heavier than a live one?" you need to ask

" is a dead body so much heavier than a live one?"

and, since the answer is no, there's no reason to consider the first question.

[TheDivineFool]

Wrong question.

Before you ask "Why is a dead body so much heavier than a live one?" you need to ask

" is a dead body so much heavier than a live one?"

and, since the answer is no, there's no reason to consider the first question.

You've made a very pertinent comment on the issue. However, I must say that as others have posted, conscious people assist you with their own power when lifting them while dead/unconscious people don't. In that sense, since part of a conscious person's weight is lifted by its own power, the body DOES become LIGHTER. So, I don't think the OP was wrong in asking ''why is a dead body so much heavier than a live one?''

[iNow]

Well, no. That is not correct, not unless you at least say "perceptually" lighter or "seemingly" lighter. The mass, and gravity's response to it, remains unchanged.

[Phi for All]

You've made a very pertinent comment on the issue. However, I must say that as others have posted, conscious people assist you with their own power when lifting them while dead/unconscious people don't. In that sense, since part of a conscious person's weight is lifted by its own power, the body DOES become LIGHTER.

 

How does a conscious person's weight get lifted by its own power as you pick them up? They can curl their legs for a better grip, and wrap their arms around your neck, but once they're off the ground, the mass is the same.

 

Nice point. I was certainly thinking of a conscious individual helping flex and relax muscles to aid you as you lift and walk.

 

It's a matter of weight distribution, isn't it? A conscious person is going to help while being picked up, to reach an optimum position in which to be lifted/carried. Weight distributed evenly with legs and elbows tucked in.

 

Imagine riding with someone on the back of your motorcycle. If they're unconscious, they aren't going to make it very easy going around corners.

[dimreepr]

You've made a very pertinent comment on the issue. However, I must say that as others have posted, conscious people assist you with their own power when lifting them while dead/unconscious people don't. In that sense, since part of a conscious person's weight is lifted by its own power, the body DOES become LIGHTER. So, I don't think the OP was wrong in asking ''why is a dead body so much heavier than a live one?''

 

 

Which is heavier a ton of lead or a ton of feathers?